#SRIS architecture

[redclaysoil]

palinda kannangara architects, sri lanka

[arc-hus]

Cabin in Diyathalawa, Sri Lanka - Damith Premathilake Architects

[mensministry]

"Doornberg," Galle, Sri Lanka,

Courtesy: The Aficionados

[munchee-academic]

Minnette de Silva is my Roman Empire and here is why.

It’s 1918, Sri Lanka is still known as Ceylon, a British Colony and the last place you’d expect to find feminist ground breaking artistic pioneers. Minnette de Silva is born and concurs.

One of the first modernist architects to come from Sri Lanka AND the first Asian woman to become an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

She was awarded the SLIA Gold Medal for her contribution to architecture “regional modernism for the tropics”

She did not complete her formal education due to family circumstances. Despite not finishing the modern equivalent of her A-Levels, she undertook an apprenticeship and attended lectures at the Ceylon Technical College (Desi kids rejoice at an intellectual icon who had an untraditional path through education). She then joined the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art which allowed her to study under many influential architects.

She was eclectic, intelligent and a force to be reckoned. She was expelled from the Government School of Architecture in India for attending a Free Gandhi March and refusing to write an apology letter to the Head of the School for it (we don’t stan Gandhi but we do stan standing up for your beliefs!)

Her father was extremely opposed to her career path but she went for it anyway. A bad bitch. An unstoppable force.

According to The Guardian “During her time at the Architectural Association (AA) in the UK she cut an elegant figure, draped in silk saris and followed by a train of young male students bearing her bags and instruments.”

This is how I imagine her walking down those halls!

Minnette de Silva returned to a newly independent Sri Lanka in 1949, and established her career in Kandy. She was influenced by Ananda Coomaraswamy, and advocated for the preservation of the traditional methods of craftsmanship, construction, and acquiring materials. She was inspired to create a style that incorporated the newly Western methods of development with the natural style, aesthetic, and landscapes of the tropical island.

The photos below are her designs and they are

e x q u i s i t e ✨

She never married. According to Architectual Record Minette explained to a friend “husbands are only good for carrying one’s bags”

My real life reaction to reading THAT quote🔥

However, Minette was always plagued by financial insecurity, she died penniless in a hospital in Kandy on the 24th of November 1998 at the age of 80. She had fallen from her bathtub at home, and was not found for days. Only a relative few of her buildings remain standing.

RIP Minette de Silva, you were a pioneer and an inspiration.

[sheltiechicago]

bmseventh

Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque With Unconventional Color Patterns

Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, constructed in 1908, is one of the oldest mosques in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka. The structure catches the eye with its distinguished white and red striped exterior. Furthermore, it features a hybrid style finely integrating Gothic Revival and Neo-Classical elements into Indo-Saracenic architecture.

gamze.iremme

gamze.iremme

arjunbutani

inti_traveller

amennyc

[sulphurousvisions]

Sri Mariamman Temple Singapore

Elka 200 expired in 2002

[aroundtheworldmp3]

Al Alfar Mosque

[dailystreetsnapshots]

Colombo, Sri Lanka

[nj-phang-al]

2025/04/12

Sigiriya, Sri Lanka 斯里蘭卡，獅子岩

[wavesofnow]

5/1/25 Bentota House, Sri Lanka

Forget the hermetically sealed houses of the West. Keeping cool is a priority in the tropical heat, and Sri Lankan homes are built very porous to allow for easy air circulation. Here, glass windows have been eschewed in favor of stylized venting made of cement. As a result of this design approach, the interior rooms tend to be dim, and the thick concrete walls further help to keep things cool. There are also holes under the eves allowing warm air inside the house to escape. Together, this venting allows for a kind of "structural respiration" of air moving in and out of the house.

[abrightedspace]

Geoffrey Bawa’s Heritance Kandalama hotel (1994) in Kandalama, Sri Lanka. Photo: Frederic Lagrange/Trunk

[atlasandacamera]

3D artwork depicting the life of the Buddha and history of the Wat Sri Suphan (Silver Temple) complex in Chiang Mai, Thailand

[architectureandfilmblog]

Heritance Kandalama, Geoffrey Bawa, 1995

As I mentioned in a recent post on South Asian Architecture, Geoffrey Bawa's work has finally received the cinematic showcase it deserves, with two films dedicated to his buildings released in the past two years. The Sri Lankan architect was a formative figure in tropical modernism, blending buildings with nature, and vernacular traditions and materials with western modernism. 

Neither BAWA’S GARDEN (2022), nor GENIUS OF THE PLACE (2023) are available to stream online yet, but this video also provides an interesting introduction to Bawa's life and work. Photo: Frederic Lagrange/Trunk via nytimes

[afrotumble]

��� Amal Prasad

Dondara Light House, Sri Lanka.

[travelella]

Mirissa, Sri Lanka

Zoshua Colah

[sheltiechicago]

flywithfii

Wat Sri Suphan (The Silver Temple) - Thailand

Located in Chiang Mai, Wat Sri Suphan is known for its intricate details and glittering silver ornaments. The temple, besides its spiritual importance, has also been a center of education and activity since its foundation in the 16th century. In 2004, it underwent a great deal of renovation. The silver panels and ornaments on the facade were made from melted coins offered by the local community.

tyltyl_mytyl_p

nas_kos_